Report: Isaiah Thomas to Make Season Debut vs. Kings After Surgery on Hip Injury

The Denver Nuggets will get additional reinforcements Wednesday with the long-awaited season debut of Isaiah Thomas. 

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Thomas will suit up for the Nuggets against the Sacramento Kings. 

This will mark Thomas' first appearance in an NBA game since March 22, when he was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. The team announced six days later that Thomas would undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right hip. 

"We will be doing a minimally invasive procedure to 'clean up' the joint of all inflammatory debris related to his injury from last season," Dr. Bryan Kelly told Wojnarowski about the procedure. 

Thomas signed a one-year deal with the Nuggets in July. His career has fallen off a cliff since making back-to-back All-Star appearances with the Boston Celtics in 2015-16 and 2016-17. The 30-year-old averaged 25.5 points and shot 44.6 percent in 158 games over those two seasons. 

The Celtics traded Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of the Kyrie Irving deal in August 2017. He averaged 15.2 points and shot a career-low 37.1 percent in 32 games last season for the Cavs and Lakers. 

The Nuggets are operating from a position of strength. They add Thomas' scoring ability to a team that's currently the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 38-18 record.